The present invention relates generally to toggle assemblies for selectively tightening and loosening clamping devices and, more particularly, to toggle assemblies for use in a band-type closure assembly for removably securing a door, lid or other closure member over an opening in a pressure vessel such as a textile dyeing kier.
Pressure vessels such as textile dyeing equipment optimally operate under considerable pressure and, accordingly, closure assemblies utilized to secure doors, lids or like covers over access openings into the interiors of such vessels should be constructed to facilitate easy opening and closing of such covers repetitively while also reliably withstanding normal operating pressures over an extended useful vessel life. For this purpose, kiers and similar textile dyeing apparatus have typically been equipped with mating annular flanges about the respective perimeters of access openings into the vessel interior and lids or other covers to be mounted thereon, with a closure assembly in the form of an elongate resilient clamping band mounted to the body of the pressure vessel about the access opening with the opposite ends of the band joined by a toggle assembly for selective clamping and unclamping of the lid and vessel flanges with respect to one another.
Optimally, such toggle assemblies should be of a mechanical design which is of a simple construction utilizing a minimal number of components while maximizing mechanical advantage in operation to provide ample clamping force and strength to easily withstand all operating pressures which may be encountered in normal use.